


Not so bad (when it’s a blonde)

by arcana_fuse



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: 12-14 age range, Childhood speculation, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Horde kids, THEYRE SO CUTE, They love each other, ahh!! so much fluff, catradora, catradora fluff for y’all starving stans, implied jealously, kid nonsense, mild bullying, tw panic attack, where is s5 at
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22945378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arcana_fuse/pseuds/arcana_fuse
Summary: Catra seemed to have a bad habit when she kissed people— thus, her fellow cadets deemed her an embarrassing title.Like always, Adora swept in to change her mind.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra
Comments: 11
Kudos: 205





	Not so bad (when it’s a blonde)

"..Catra?" A fellow cadet's voice was what brought Catra out of her lingering daze, the feline blinking rapidly. The room seemed dimmer than normal now, a heavy silence crashing upon the air. The catgirl was trying desperately to analyze what had just happened.

Some twelve cadets were shuffled into a small circle, shoulder to shoulder in a tight closet, voices hushed to avoid attracting attention from their superiors. The lights were off, shadows from the light protruding the window of the door crossed along the eager faces of those inside. They had all partaken in a particularly risky game, one that had brought about an aura of scandalousness in the face of authoritative opposition. After all, their commanding officers certainly wouldn't approve. Catra stomach churned as she wondered how many laps they'd have to run if they were caught. 

"What?" Was all Catra managed as her numbing embarrassment began to fade, leaning away from Lonnie, swallowing hard. It was hard to think clearly about what had just happened, every rational thought void from reach. 

"Why'd you just... stare at her like that?"A cadet from beside her seemed to frown, obviously disapproving of the action.

  
Catra felt nervousness emerge in her gut, not realizing she'd be so ruthlessly critiqued by her peers, 

"..Like what?"

"Gross, did you keep your eyes open?" Another chided.

How Catra found herself in this situation was far beyond her own comprehension. One minute she had tackled Rogelio in their training sets, the next, her group of cadets had scampered off to the closet. Catra, confused and intrigued, couldn't help but to follow. How was she to know they'd be up to this weird game? That they'd drag her into it?

That she’d (albeit reluctantly) agree? 

"Was I not supposed to..?" Catra felt paralyzed by the remark, ears flying back to her head in the face of her peers' judging glances. How could she slip up so easily? 

"No!" Lonnie seemed disgusted with what had just happened, wiping at her lip. Was it really such a bad thing to have to kiss Catra?

The laughs which enveloped the room— and were directed at _her_ — were unbearably loud.

Her mind scrambled to defend herself. But it only made sense! Wasn't kissing supposed to be enjoyable? Intimate? Shouldn't you be.. looking at the other person while you did it?

When the bottle had landed on Lonnie, Catra gave it her all to seem as confident and unbothered by it as possible. It didn't help that there were some fifteen faces scrambled around her, observing closely, assuming she'd wuss out. Catra was no coward. But, she didn't even know the _first thing_ about kissing— she saw cadets sneak pecks here and there, but it's not like she'd been taught anything about it. So she went about it strictly on instinct alone.

Now look where that got her. Chest heavy with embarrassment as her fellow cadets nearly doubled over in laughter, Catra felt pathetic.

Ears pinned tight to her head, she shot up from her place on the floor and left. She couldn't bear to take the laughs and teases that had suddenly taken hold of the room, her face burning a distinct red under the dark yellow lights of the Fright Zone corridor. As she made the walk of shame back to her squadron's bunks, she prayed to any God she could think of that word hadn't spread about what had happened.

"Hey Catra!" A foreign, strikingly male voice chided from behind her. Already, it sounded like a taunt.

_Don't look up,_ she warned herself, _whatever you do, don't look up_. Her head betrayed her as her eyes caught sight of the source of the voice, alongside another young boy, who wore a matching smirk like a crown. They made a dramatic smooching expression, eyes widening to their full possible extent, very well resembling saucers. Catra hissed and dashed away as they exploded into fits of laugher.

_There's no way I looked_ that _creepy,_ she reminded herself that they were only overexaggerating to get a rise out of her. But unfortunately, they weren't the only ones out for blood.

_Catra, the open-eyed kisser_. Cadets chanted the phrase like clockwork as she ran, and it was almost as if it would never end. Some participants she recognized from the closet escapade, others she'd never seen before. It seemed like no corner was safe, no corridor untainted, no soul uniformed about what had happened. Catra's skillful ears absorbed the surrounding sounds to about twice their volume, shoving her palms over her ears in an attempt to block out the torturous name. But it kept slipping through her desperate fingers,

_  
Catra, the open-eyed—_

"..Catra?" A soft voice cut through the fog.

Like a beam of holy light, and incredibly concerned looking Adora stood at their bunkroom's doorway, arms crossed. She seemed to glow in contrast to the nightmare Catra had just taken part of. The catgirl's ear twitched, as she hadn't realized she'd already run so far in such a short time. But then again, Shadow Weaver always said it was the only thing she was good at.

Adora, frowning, lunged forward to rest a hand on Catra's shoulder. Still in panic mode, the catgirl swatted her hand away with much more force than necessary, hissing. Adora frowned, drawing her hand away.

Immediately, she felt apologetic. Expecting Adora with fear and disgust in her eyes, the same way the other cadets had treated her—all she saw laced in her steel sky orbs was concern and nothing more.

"Catra," she drawled, softly, "what's wrong?"

A soon as Adora uttered these words she felt a sob crawl up her chest but wouldn't dare let it breach through the surface. That phrase was the one thing that could get her to explode completely, but she wouldn't allow it to destroy her.

Catra offered little to no response, eyes wide, posture unmistakably defensive.

"..Catra, talk to me." Adora begged.

"They.." Catra bared her incisors, biting her tongue in bad habit, "haven't they already told you?"

"Told me what?" Adora questioned. Oh Adora, oblivious, _oblivious_ Adora. Too busy with her one-on-one work with Shadow weaver to pay any attention to what was happening out _there_.

"What a _freak_ I am!?" It had gotten painfully close there; Catra held the swelling feeling in her chest down. Hoping with every fiber Adora wouldn't acknowledge the pathetic crack of her voice.

"A freak..?" Adora frowned. She would never associate the spiteful word with Catra in any way. How could somebody else think that way of her?

Catra had suddenly exploded.

" _I kissed Lonnie_!" Adora's jaw dropped at the remark, “and I did it with my eyes open! There!"

Obviously stunned, it seemed Adora needed a bit more elaboration on the subject. The way her nose was scrunched, it was clear she wasn't catching on. Catra chewed on her bottom lip, growling,

"We were playing spin the bottle in the B closet while our instructor was gone, and when it was my turn, it landed on Lonnie. I kissed her, but I did it all wrong, and kept my stupid eyes open."

A stern silence took the two over, as Adora seemed to think over what Catra had just said. Eyebrows furrowed in that conflicted way of hers.

"You probably don't want to be my friend anymore." Catra mumbled, sulking. She dove under the blanket, burrowing herself beneath it. She figured it would be her new home, forever, so she may as well get settled in.

“Catra..” Adora slid closer to her, a hand finds its way onto Catra’s lower back, soothingly. Catra seemed to lean away fro the touch shamefully.

"Don't talk to me," she grumbled, pulling the blanket tighter over her head, "like, _ever_ again."

Adora chimed in, “I don't think it's weird,"

"You don't?" A yellow eye peeked from under the blanket.

"Yeah!" She sounded a bit too enthusiastic, but, whatever. "I feel like.. kissing isn't supposed to be done a certain way, you know?" She shrugged, completely unbothered by what Catra had just told her, “It just sort of.. is."

"You really think so?" In any other circumstance, Catra might've assumed the person trying to comfort her was only lying to coax her out of her shell. Giving her an empty, sickeningly hopeful promise. Adora, on the other hand, she trusted enough to tell her what she was really thinking. And as much as she'd never admit it, Adora's opinion far surpassed anyone else's.

She couldn't help how her heartbeat steadied at her words of reassurance, slowly emerging from under the blanket.

"I know so." She sat beside Catra now, laying across the bed. Arm propped up under her chin and smiling brightly. Only momentarily scaring all of Catra's fears and doubts away.

"Then why does it even matter?" Leave it to Catra to question her wrongdoings, her missteps. Shadow Weaver’s branding disappointment always had her wondering where she went wrong. Even outside the battlefield, she wanted to do better— strive to be the best. But it always seemed unattainable; like she was prone to inevitable mistakes no matter how hard she tried.

"It's sort of like.. an unspoken rule." Adora shrugged.

"What kind of a rule works if you don't say it?"

"No.. it's like.." Adora sighed, struggling to explain, "that's just how people _usually_ do it, but it doesn't even matter."

"Oh." Catra quickly deflated, "well.. you seem to know a lot about it." She fought down the swirl of jealousy that had suddenly ignited in her chest. Ignoring it so fiercely she didn't even bother wondering where it was directed.

"Well, you know, cadets talk." Adora shrugged sheepishly. Her lack of experience spoke for itself.

"Not to me." _Only behind my back_ , Catra wanted with every fiber to say, incisor nearly piercing into her bottom lip. She really needed to shake that habit.

This time, Adora's face fell. When Catra gave her that saddened look it made her want nothing more than to bring a smile back to Catra's freckled face.

"Hey, _I'm_ here. Talking to you."

"..Right." Catra sighed. Even though she was just trying to make her feel better, Catra appreciated how Adora was always there for her. And to tell the truth, it worked. She was glad she could talk about these dumb things with Adora without being judged so relentlessly. Adora and her teased each other, often, but they knew how to ride the line and never push past it.

"So.. how was it then?" Adora drawled, managing to crack a smile amongst the tense air. She couldn't help but to ask, to _wonder—_ she had to admit, she hadn't expected Catra to lose her first kiss so soon.

"How was what?" Catra pawed behind her ear, obviously deflecting.

Adora raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Catra groaned, knowing it would take _much_ more than that to successfully refuse Adora’s curious nature. "It was.. it was okay, I guess. Nothing special. Not sure what all the fuss is about," she muttered. It was the same old phrase she always used when describing an uncomfortable event; a failed attempt. She prayed Adora couldn't read through the lines.

“I don’t believe you.” Adora decided.

“ _What_?” Catra said, shocked, sitting upright. “There’s nothing more to tell!” It was obvious that wasn’t everything, as Catra struggled to mask to red of her face.

“Come on, Cat! How’d it feel? Did it feel good? ...Weird?” Adora said, eyes wide in wonder. Gods, why was she so interested? What did it even matter? Adora is not one to talk about this kind of thing with, Catra decided.

“You’re the one being weird.” Catra gave Adora a hard shove, face still burning. No _way_ she was answering that.

Adora laughed her dumb laugh, and Catra couldn’t help the one that proceeded to crawl up her throat. They exploded into laughter, and Catra’s stomach felt warm at the feeling. Adora never failed to cheer up— even in the face of what seemed to Catra like the end of the world.

  
Moments like this were hard to come by nowadays, especially as they began to grow up, and their responsibilities shifted. Catra saw less and less of Adora as Shadow Weaver inducted her as her protégé. Trainings always came before any sort of hangout time, their superiors wanting them focused and on task at all times aside from slumber. Outside distractions like this... they wouldn’t abide by. 

Lost in her own thoughts, Catra didn’t notice Adora’s branding gaze. Her thoughts were sliced in half as Adora asked, "..Catra?"

Her ear flicked in question, a wordless cock of her brow answering for her.

"I.. kind of want to see what all the fuss is about," she tucked a stray hair behind her ear, smiling bashfully as crimson crept along her pale cheeks, "That is.. if that's okay with you."

_What_..? Sometimes, it took Catra's brain a couple of minutes to process things that didn't make sense to her, the same going for right now. Was Adora seriously asking if she could _kiss_ Catra right now? The bashful expression she gave her from across the cot seemed to say so. But that wasn't possible, right?

If Catra could do anything stop the sudden eager sway of her tail, ( _cool it, dumbass!_ ) she sure as hell would. If she could properly mask the flush crawling up her neck, she would do so in a heartbeat. But her prayers weren't granted so easily and she instead decided on lowering her head to combat it. 

It was clear she hadn't felt this strange, brewing bubble of confliction in her chest when the bottle had landed on Lonnie. She didn't feel fear, misplacement, nor judgement.

Just... Adora. _Safety_.

And dare she say it, _excitement_. She wouldn’t lie and say she hadn’t wondered what it would be like...

"O-kay.." Catra stuttered lamely, (how could she ever refuse Adora?) "but.. like I said, it's really nothing..." Catra tried to seem cool, emulating the same mindset as back in the closet, crossing her arms. 

Adora had quickly surged toward upon hearing this consent before she could continue, face only inches away from the feline's.

“..Special." She finished, eyes flicking up to Adora.She was so terribly close that Catra could feel the girl's breaths upon the bridge of her nose. 

And it was quite the view. From up close, Catra couldn’t deny that Adora was all kinds of majestic. Blonde hair tucked neatly behind her ears as if to mask its unkemptness, cheeks dusted pink, shy smile finding her mouth. 

Heat rose to Catra's face like a lighter as Adora finally closed the gap between them, pressing her lips against Catra's, softly.

Adora, though ever the brute strength of the pair, devastatingly precise yet clumsy, was _gentle_ in every action she performed. Catra knew this in the way she stroked her painfully knotted mane on those late weekend nights, how she made sure not too hit Catra too hard during their spars, her hand-picked words of comfort. She shouldn't have expected anything less with how Adora held the side of her jaw now, fingers ghosting the edge of her face as if to carefully frame and capture it.

What Catra hadn't expected was the explosion that surged through her chest as their lips met. _Holy shit._

Catra's front incisors mistakenly caught against Adora's bottom lip, and a chuckle resounded from Adora that made Catra's heart flutter in relief. The last thing she'd wanted to do was hurt her during such a tender moment. _Shit! Did I ruin it again_? Her every remaining thought rapidly panicked and her ears fell flat as Adora inched away in response.

Adora pressed her forehead to hers and gazed at her longingly, a goofy smile etched onto her reddened face before closing in again, this time, knowing exactly how to avoid those teeth of hers. Etching out every detail as if it were a battle plan; the way Catra's soft lips reminded her of the fuzz behind her ears, how it directly contrasted her standoffish nature. How Catra's tense body suddenly relaxed under her touch; how her every doubt and insecurity was momentarily silenced, enraptured in this moment alone. She decided then that Catra had been wrong, that this was _definitely_ something to fuss about. Something to treasure.

Catra, meanwhile, had momentarily surged into the clouds as her thoughts screamed, _Adora_ , and she wondered why things had felt so different in this kiss than the last, whole body keen on shirt-circuiting.

  
This time, everything about this kiss felt right. Nothing weird, nothing embarrassing. Just.. warm. 

  
This time, Catra's eyes closed properly.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you guys enjoyed! hoping to crank out a couple more projects before season 5 is released (whenever that may be, heh.)


End file.
